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Zhang C, Zheng Z, Lucas JR, Wang Y, Fan X, Zhao X, Feng J, Sun C, Jiang T. Do bats' social vocalizations conform to Zipf's law and the Menzerath-Altmann law? iScience 2024; 27:110401. [PMID: 39104571 PMCID: PMC11298857 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 05/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The study of vocal communication in non-human animals can uncover the roots of human languages. Recent studies of language have focused on two linguistic laws: Zipf's law and the Menzerath-Altmann law. However, whether bats' social vocalizations follow these linguistic laws, especially Menzerath's law, has largely been unexplored. Here, we used Asian particolored bats, Vespertilio sinensis, to examine whether aggressive vocalizations conform to Zipf's and Menzerath's laws. Aggressive vocalizations of V. sinensis adhere to Zipf's law, with the most frequent syllables being the shortest in duration. There was a negative association between the syllable number within a call and the average syllable duration, in agreement with Menzerath's law. A decrease in the proportion of some long syllables and a decrease in the duration of several syllable types in long-duration calls explain the occurrence of this law. Our results indicate that a general compression principle organizes aspects of bat vocal communication systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunmian Zhang
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
- Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
| | - Ziqi Zheng
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
- Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
| | - Jeffrey R. Lucas
- College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, 2888 Xincheng Street, Changchun 130118, China
| | - Yicheng Wang
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
- Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
| | - Xin Fan
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
- Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
| | - Xin Zhao
- School of Psychology, Inner Mongolia Normal University, 81 Zhaowuda Road, Hohhot 010022, China
| | - Jiang Feng
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Congnan Sun
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
- Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China
| | - Tinglei Jiang
- Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Resource Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Normal University, 2555 Jingyue Street, Changchun 130117, China
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Fichtel C, Kappeler PM. Coevolution of social and communicative complexity in lemurs. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210297. [PMID: 35934963 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The endemic lemurs of Madagascar (Lemuriformes: Primates) exhibit great social and communicative diversity. Given their independent evolutionary history, lemurs provide an excellent opportunity to identify fundamental principles in the coevolution of social and communicative traits. We conducted comparative phylogenetic analyses to examine patterns of interspecific variation among measures of social complexity and repertoire sizes in the vocal, olfactory and visual modality, while controlling for environmental factors such as habitat and number of sympatric species. We also examined potential trade-offs in signal evolution as well as coevolution between body mass or brain size and communicative complexity. Repertoire sizes in the vocal, olfactory and visual modality correlated positively with group size, but not with environmental factors. Evolutionary changes in social complexity presumably antedated corresponding changes in communicative complexity. There was no trade-off in the evolution of signals in different modalities and neither body mass nor brain size correlated with any repertoire size. Hence, communicative complexity coevolved with social complexity across different modalities, possibly to service social relationships flexibly and effectively in pair- and group-living species. Our analyses shed light on the requirements and adaptive possibilities in the coevolution of core elements of social organization and social structure in a basal primate lineage. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cognition, communication and social bonds in primates'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Fichtel
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen 37077, Germany.,Leibniz-ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.,Department Anthropology/Sociobiology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter M Kappeler
- Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Unit, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, Göttingen 37077, Germany.,Leibniz-ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.,Department Anthropology/Sociobiology, University of Göttingen, Kellnerweg 6, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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Lin A, Feng J, Kanwal JS. Geographic Variation in Social Vocalizations of the Great Himalayan Leaf-Nosed Bat, Hipposideros armiger: Acoustic Overflow Across Population Boundaries. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.948324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Bat populations employ rich vocal repertoires for social communication in addition to emitting sound pulses for echolocation. Acoustic parameters of echolocation pulses can vary with the context in which they are emitted, and also with the individual and across populations as a whole. The acoustic parameters of social vocalizations, or “calls”, also vary with the individual and context, but not much is known about their variation across populations at different geographic locations. Here, we leveraged the detailed acoustic classification of social vocalizations available for the Great Himalayan leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros armiger, to examine geographic variation in five commonly emitted simple syllable types. We hypothesized that individuals within geographically dispersed populations communicate using spectrographically similar constructs or “syllable types”. We also examined whether call syllables vary discordantly with the correlation pattern observed for echolocation pulses across those same geographic regions. Furthermore, we postulated that the acoustic boundaries of a syllable type are not uniquely constrained to its variation within a particular population of the same subspecies. To test our hypotheses, we obtained recordings of social calls of H. a. armiger from nine locations within the oriental region. These locations were consolidated into five geographic regions based on previously established region-specific differences in the peak frequency of echolocation pulses. A multivariate cluster analysis established that unlike echolocation pulses, syllable types exhibit a relatively large variance. Analysis of this variance showed significant differences in Least Squares Means estimates, establishing significant population-level differences in the multiparametric means of individual syllable types across geographic regions. Multivariate discriminant analysis confirmed the presence of region-specific centroids for different syllable constructs, but also showed a large overlap of their multiparametric boundaries across geographic regions. We propose that despite differences in the population-specific core construct of a syllable type, bats maximize acoustic variation across individuals within a population irrespective of its overflow and overlap with other populations.
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Aylen O, Bishop PJ, bin Haji Abd Wahab R, Grafe TU. Effectiveness of acoustic lures for increasing tropical forest understory bat captures. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8775. [PMID: 35386871 PMCID: PMC8969924 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Bats are the most diverse mammalian order second to rodents, with 1400+ species globally. In the tropics, it is possible to find more than 60 bat species at a single site. However, monitoring bats is challenging due to their small size, ability to fly, cryptic nature, and nocturnal activity. Recently, bioacoustic techniques have been incorporated into survey methods, either through passive acoustic monitoring or acoustic bat lures. Lures have been developed on the premise that broadcasting acoustic stimuli increases the number of captures in harp traps or mist nets. However, this is a relatively new, niche method. This study tested the efficacy of two commonly used acoustic bat lure devices, broadcasting two different acoustic stimuli, to increase forest understory bat captures in the tropics. This is the first time an acoustic bat lure has been systematically tested in a tropical rainforest, and the first study to compare two lure devices (Sussex AutoBat and Apodemus BatLure). Using a paired experimental design, two synthesized acoustic stimuli were broadcasted, a feeding call and a social call, to understand the importance of the call type used on capture rates and genus-specific responses. Using an acoustic lure significantly increased capture rates, while the type of device did not impact capture rates. The two acoustic stimuli had an almost even distribution of captures, suggesting that the type of call may be less important than previously thought. Results indicate a possible deterrent effect on Rhinolophous sp., while being particularly effective for attracting bats in the genera Murina and Kerivoula. This study highlights the effectiveness of lures, however, also indicates that lure effects can vary across genera. Therefore, lures may bias survey results by altering the species composition of bats caught. Future research should focus on a single species or genus, using synthesized calls of conspecifics, to fully understand the effect of lures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver Aylen
- Department of ZoologyUniversity of OtagoDunedinNew Zealand
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences (BEES)University of New South WalesSydneyAustralia
| | | | - Rodzay bin Haji Abd Wahab
- Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental ResearchUniversiti Brunei DarussalamGadongBrunei Darussalam
| | - T. Ulmar Grafe
- Faculty of ScienceUniversiti Brunei DarussalamGadongBrunei Darussalam
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